Mount Cook — a mountain peak in Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska at about 4,058 m (13,314 ft) above sea level — is a rewarding subject for landscape photographers.
Mount Cook (or Boundary Peak 182) is a high peak on the Yukon Territory-Alaska border, in the Saint Elias Mountains of North America. It is approximately 15 mi (24 km) southwest of Mount Vancouver and 35 mi (56 km) miles east-southeast of Mount Saint Elias. It forms one of the corners of the jagged border, which is defined to run in straight lines between the major peaks. The same border also separates Kluane National Park in the Yukon Territory from Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Like many peaks of the Saint Elias Mountains, Mount Cook is a massive peak, with a large rise above local terrain. For example, the southwest face drops 10,000 feet (3,000 m) to the Marvine Glacier in approximately 4 miles (6.4 km). It is also quite close to tidewater: Disenchantment Bay is less than 18 miles (29 km) from the summit.From the Wikipedia article “Mount Cook (Saint Elias Mountains)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Mount Cook the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 35° (NE) at the June solstice and 141° (SE) in late December. Sunset moves from 326° (NW) in June to 219° (SW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 53° in summer but only 6° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:22 AM | 89° E | 7:34 PM | 272° W | 30° | 12h 12m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 3:54 AM | 35° NE | 10:51 PM | 326° NW | 53° | 18h 56m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:05 AM | 88° E | 7:22 PM | 272° W | 30° | 12h 17m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 9:25 AM | 141° SE | 3:13 PM | 219° SW | 6° | 5h 49m |
Azimuth is measured clockwise from true north (90° = east, 270° = west). Computed for 2026; values change by less than a degree from year to year.
Golden hour & blue hour by month
Summits catch first and last light — alpenglow can turn rock pink or orange minutes before sunrise and after sunset while valleys stay in shadow.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8:16 AM | 9:09 AM | 10:45 AM | 2:15 PM | 3:50 PM | 4:44 PM | 6h 41m |
| February | 7:15 AM | 7:59 AM | 9:04 AM | 4:06 PM | 5:11 PM | 5:55 PM | 9h 11m |
| March | 6:56 AM | 7:37 AM | 8:33 AM | 6:26 PM | 7:22 PM | 8:04 PM | 11h 45m |
| April | 5:16 AM | 6:03 AM | 7:00 AM | 7:41 PM | 8:38 PM | 9:25 PM | 14h 35m |
| May | 3:37 AM | 4:41 AM | 5:49 AM | 8:45 PM | 9:53 PM | 10:58 PM | 17h 12m |
| June | 2:06 AM | 3:55 AM | 5:15 AM | 9:27 PM | 10:48 PM | 12:36 AM | 18h 53m |
| July | 3:03 AM | 4:23 AM | 5:37 AM | 9:16 PM | 10:30 PM | 11:50 PM | 18h 07m |
| August | 4:43 AM | 5:35 AM | 6:35 AM | 8:16 PM | 9:16 PM | 10:08 PM | 15h 41m |
| September | 6:06 AM | 6:49 AM | 7:44 AM | 6:48 PM | 7:43 PM | 8:26 PM | 12h 55m |
| October | 7:18 AM | 8:00 AM | 9:00 AM | 5:13 PM | 6:12 PM | 6:55 PM | 10h 12m |
| November | 7:31 AM | 8:20 AM | 9:41 AM | 2:30 PM | 3:51 PM | 4:40 PM | 7h 31m |
| December | 8:22 AM | 9:20 AM | 11:29 AM | 1:03 PM | 3:12 PM | 4:10 PM | 5h 52m |
Local time (America/Yakutat), including daylight saving time. Golden hour runs from about −4° to +6° solar altitude, so the morning golden hour begins during blue hour, before sunrise.
Milky Way & night sky
The Milky Way's bright core (in Sagittarius) barely clears the southern horizon at this latitude, so focus on winter Milky Way, aurora or star trails instead.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | -11° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | -6° | — |
| March | Below 10° in darkness | — | -4° | — |
| April | Below 10° in darkness | — | -7° | — |
| May | No darkness | — | — | — |
| June | No darkness | — | — | — |
| July | No darkness | — | — | — |
| August | Below 10° in darkness | — | -2° | — |
| September | Below 10° in darkness | — | -6° | — |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | -7° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -11° | — |
| December | Below 10° in darkness | — | -21° | — |
Window when the galactic core is at least 10° high during astronomical darkness on the 15th of each month. Pick nights within a few days of the new moon. Plan exact nights with the Milky Way planner.
Estimated sky darkness: 1 Bortle 1 — Excellent dark-sky site. The Milky Way casts faint shadows; zodiacal light and airglow are obvious. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.95 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 0.0+ to show low on the northern horizon here.
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show March as the clearest month (about 60% average cloud cover) and August as the cloudiest (82%). July is the warmest month and March the coldest, which matters for gear, snow access and how long batteries last at night.
Average cloud cover (%)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High °F | 31 | 24 | 38 | 40 | 42 | 51 | 46 | 47 | 42 | 39 | 30 | 24 |
| Low °F | -42 | -39 | -39 | -20 | -7 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 1 | -14 | -28 | -37 |
| Precip. (in) | 6.8 | 5.9 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 6.5 | 8.7 | 8.6 | 7.5 | 7.8 |
Monthly climatology for the surrounding 1° grid cell from NASA POWER (MERRA-2). Mountain sites can be colder and cloudier than the cell average.
Photography tips for this mountain peak
- Long lenses compress ridgelines; shoot the peak from several miles away to make it look massive.
- Afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer at high elevations — plan summit hikes for early morning.
- Snow on the summit holds detail best when you expose for the highlights and lift shadows later.
- Alpenglow lasts only a few minutes; set up and focus beforehand.
- Clouds around the summit add drama — a clear blue sky is often the least interesting condition.
- Shoot RAW to keep the most latitude for high-contrast sunrise and sunset scenes.
Season: Early summer keeps snow on the peaks with green valleys below; autumn adds aspen or larch color in many ranges.
Suggested gear: Telephoto lens, Lightweight tripod, Warm layers, Microspikes in shoulder seasons. Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Mount Cook, closest first.
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Mount Cook?
What time is golden hour at Mount Cook?
Where does the sun rise and set at Mount Cook?
Can you see the Milky Way from Mount Cook?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Mount Cook?
Sources
Location data: Wikidata, USGS GNIS / GeoNames, Wikipedia. Sun, moon and Milky Way times are computed by LWPhoto Atlas for 2026. Climate: NASA POWER. Sky darkness is a population-based estimate (Walker's law), not a measurement. See data sources & licenses.